It's that time. How many wins?

[Andy]

Voted 81-85. I get 2005 vibes from this team. Not in a good way. Hope I am wrong.

[CubinNY]

13 hours ago, jersey cubs fan said:

It seemed like they actually went out and invested in the team but then you look at the roster and realize they lost their best hitter, bring back some highly volatile guys that all have major injury issues. They brought in one star who’s only kind of a star. They don’t have a 3B, 1B or CF. The pitching staff seems competent, but severely lacking in upside. I believe this team was designed to play a lot of 3-2 games and trick fans into thinking they still have a chance in August. The perfect 79 win team. 

I agree. They are built to be a consistently mediocre team. I don't think there is a lot of upside or downside variance from any player. 

[David]

36 minutes ago, Andy said:

Voted 81-85. I get 2005 vibes from this team. Not in a good way. Hope I am wrong.

I can't even imagine having a concept of what 2005 vibes means, so I gotta ask.

 

What the hell are 2005 vibes? (and how could there even be a good way, for that matter lol)

 

Is it the random filler vets like Hosmer and Mancini :: Burnitz and Jerry Hairston or something?

Edited March 29, 2023 by David

[Ding Dong Johnson]

6 minutes ago, David said:

Jerry Hairston

Thanks, I totally forgot he existed.

[Andy]

8 minutes ago, David said:

I can't even imagine having a concept of what 2005 vibes means, so I gotta ask.

 

What the hell are 2005 vibes? (and how could there even be a good way, for that matter lol)

 

Is it the random filler vets like Hosmer and Mancini :: Burnitz and Jerry Hairston or something?

I didn't really think through the comparison that much, 2005 was just the one that came to mind for a team that's kinda sorta in contention much of the season but not really and the year ends up being mostly boring as a result (I'll assume we're not going to have a guy competing for the Triple Crown into the summer in this one, though).

[David]

2 minutes ago, Ding Dong Johnson said:

Thanks, I totally forgot he existed.

I'm still pissed about the Sosa trade.  That's really all I remember about that year.

 

Was that the "Neifi saved us" year?  I wanna say that was 2006.

[Andy]

Just now, David said:

I'm still pissed about the Sosa trade.  That's really all I remember about that year.

 

Was that the "Neifi saved us" year?  I wanna say that was 2006.

No, it was '05, '06 was the year we were awful largely because Neifi played more.

[David]

Just now, Andy said:

I didn't really think through the comparison that much, 2005 was just the one that came to mind for a team that's kinda sorta in contention much of the season but not really and the year ends up being mostly boring as a result (I'll assume we're not going to have a guy competing for the Triple Crown into the summer in this one, though).

Oh, yeah.  I guess that WAS the DLee year.

[David]

Just now, Andy said:

No, it was '05, '06 was the year we were awful largely because Neifi played more.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2005-06-03-0506030112-story.html

Apparently Lee said it?  I would've bet my life on it having been Dusty lol.

[Derwood]

24 minutes ago, Andy said:

No, it was '05, '06 was the year we were awful largely because Neifi played more.

Neifi and Jose Macias batting 1/2 was enough to make you jump off a bridge

[David]

1 minute ago, Derwood said:

Neifi and Jose Macias batting 1/2 was enough to make you jump off a bridge

I'm not gonna bother looking it up, but I am pretty sure Dusty hit Rey Ordonez leadoff on at least one occasion, if not more, in 03.  Absolute insanity.

[Tim]

42 minutes ago, CubinNY said:

I agree. They are built to be a consistently mediocre team. I don't think there is a lot of upside or downside variance from any player. 

No upside or downside variance from any player? Really?

[fromthestretch]

2 minutes ago, David said:

I'm not gonna bother looking it up, but I am pretty sure Dusty hit Rey Ordonez leadoff on at least one occasion, if not more, in 03.  Absolute insanity.

He did not, thankfully. Ordonez did bat 2nd though in 6 games.

[David]

3 minutes ago, grassbass said:

He did not, thankfully. Ordonez did bat 2nd though in 6 games.

Ah, you're right.  Damn it.  And it was actually 04.  Still awful lol.  And, yeah, Macias leading off in 03 is obv just as bad.

[fromthestretch]

Skimming through the batting orders of 2005, I see one instance of Perez/Macias, as well as several instances of Macias/Perez near the end of the season. We also saw the dreadful Perez/Enrique Wilson combo once.

[fromthestretch]

Digging deeper into 2005, the Cubs had a combined OBP of .299 from the leadoff spot that year. Hairston actually was the best of the bunch with a .344 OBP in 348 plate appearances in the leadoff spot. Patterson and Perez both produced a .263 OBP in that spot in 139 and 119 plate appearances, respectively. The team as a whole was dead last in the NL in walks. What a waste of Walker, Lee, Ramirez, and even Barrett that year by batting such garbage at the top of the order.

[David]

10 minutes ago, grassbass said:

Skimming through the batting orders of 2005, I see one instance of Perez/Macias, as well as several instances of Macias/Perez near the end of the season. We also saw the dreadful Perez/Enrique Wilson combo once.

 

[UMFan83]

1 hour ago, David said:

I can't even imagine having a concept of what 2005 vibes means, so I gotta ask.

 

What the hell are 2005 vibes? (and how could there even be a good way, for that matter lol)

 

Is it the random filler vets like Hosmer and Mancini :: Burnitz and Jerry Hairston or something?

Can't speak for Andy but 2005 vibes to me means mediocrity, having good players but like you said some ceiling limiting filler.  2005 was definitely more annoying and disappointing than I expect this season to be coming off being 5 outs away from the world series and then the massively frustrating 2004 season.  We were heading downward in 2005, whereas this team presumably should be on an upward trajectory with plenty to be hopeful about even if we end up .500ish

 

Edit: I typed this up an hour ago and forgot to click post.  I see the conversation has continued quite a bit since then, oh well.

Edited March 29, 2023 by UMFan83

[UMFan83]

56 minutes ago, David said:

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2005-06-03-0506030112-story.html

Apparently Lee said it?  I would've bet my life on it having been Dusty lol.

Dusty said it too...

Quote

"I hear a lot of people say, 'Put Cedeno in.' What am I supposed to do? Push Neifi out now? This guy has saved us."

 

[Rob]

78ish. But unlike some of our previous teams, I can see a path to a playoff spot with this squad.

Of course, 99% of those paths run through Bellinger returning to near-MVP form thanks to the new shift rules and a change of scenery. And even then, we're relying on some breakouts of young guys and veteran bouncebacks. So is it a likely path? No. But I'm holding at least a little hope as we approach opening day.

[stitchface]

15 hours ago, Tim said:

90

horsefeathers you guys.

It's opening day. I'm optimistic. sue me

Isn't that tomorrow? Hold your optimism!

 

[SouthSideRyan]

11 hours ago, David said:

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2005-06-03-0506030112-story.html

Apparently Lee said it?  I would've bet my life on it having been Dusty lol.

I still don’t believe it,

Also, Koronka Watch

[gflore34]

Speaking of Dusty was it 2006 he said of Jacque Jones, after dropping a pop-up in Houston, that the ball was too high for him to catch?  You know Dusty, always having the backs of "vets".

Edited March 30, 2023 by gflore34

[dfnowak]

81 wins, some quality players but not enough are stars/impactful.

[jersey cubs fan]

I had them at 79 but chalked this one up to a loss so officially 80 win territory now